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In Memory

In memory of our friend and colleague Amy Branch

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Female fans normally know more facts about what’s going on than men do anyway. I’d say they’re a more intelligent fan on top of that. They normally know more about what we’ve done than we know about what we’ve done. --- Tony Stewart

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There are female fans who take apart engines and will take you apart if you have a problem with that; who are drawn to the danger and mystery of the sport; who watch races on TV to witness pure passion and unscripted emotion; who love the camaraderie of these family-friendly festivals; who feel the nervous anxiety of the lip-biting wives atop the pit boxes. --- Andrew Giangola “The Weekend Starts on Wednesday”

Saturday, March 31, 2012

I want Dale Earnhardt Jr. to break his winless streak under the lights at Texas Motor Speedway on April 14 in the Samsung 500.

I know that as a member of the media I'm supposed to remain impartial, but I'm a race fan, too, or I wouldn't be writing for this website. And I don't make this statement as a Junior fan, but as a NASCAR fan. Pretty much everyone in the sport agrees that a win for Junior is a win for NASCAR in general. Whether that's a fair burden to place on the shoulders of one man is beside the point and not something on which I want to focus right now.

Keep in mind, I'm not a part of Junior Nation. I like Junior, but my interest at this juncture comes as much from being a fan of the sport, as well as from wanting him to move on from all the pain and the drama in his life over the last 11 years.

So just as parts of the Lone Star State are ending a long rough drought, I’d rather Earnhardt Jr. end his win drought at my home track. It is, I admit, partly because I’ll be there to see it, to experience the frenzy that's sure to occur if NASCAR’s most popular driver wins at The Great American Speedway, whether he wins this weekend or not. Track president Eddie Gossage puts on a heck of a show and an Earnhardt victory would give Gossage something to promote just as energetically as he did the "Smoke" vs. "Cousin Carl" battle last November.

If the No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard car rolls into victory lane this Sunday, I’ll be happy for him as well as for Rick Hendrick with that 200th Cup win. But the Texan in me wants that to happen on the high banks of TMS, where the cars take your breath away when they thunder past you into the turns at 200mph, not on the small stage of the Paperclip.

It’s the place about which Jade Gurss said in his book In The Red, "In his [Earnhardt’s] short career, it was the only track where he had achieved far more than his father, who had never won a race at the 1.5-mile D-shaped oval."

If you go by just the numbers, Earnhardt Jr. has consistent results in his 24 starts at Martinsville:

Top-5: 9
Top-10: 13
Average start: 13.4
Average finish: 13
Laps lead: 865 (454.99 miles total on the 0526-mile track)

His overall Texas results are good, but slightly less impressive in 19 starts:

Except that Earnhardt Jr. has something at Texas he doesn’t have at Martinsville: wins.

He won his first Busch race at Texas Motor Speedway — his first career NASCAR race, actually. He won his first Winston Cup race at TMS, leaving Earnhardt fans, of both Big E and Little E, with a precious memory.

I’m not a driver (obviously) but I think I’d be more confident running at a track where I had a win or two than ones where I didn’t. Besides, according to Gurss, Earnhardt said, “I like Texas and Texas likes me.”

Sure, I'll cheer for him if he wins Sunday at Martinsville. I'll cheer when he wins after that. And of course, I'll celebrate whoever wins the April 14th race. But I'm just putting it out there to the racing gods ... if you want to see a good show, let Dale Earnhardt Jr. win at Texas Motor Speedway. Then just sit back and watch.

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Dale Jr.'s first win in Winston Cup at Texas is why I started watching NASCAR. My husband watched every week and I thought...why in the world would anyone want to watch a bunch of cars go round in circles (of course he would say its an oval or something smart like that). But then I watch Jr. win at Texas, I watch his father, I saw how proud he was, I don't think he would have been happier had he won himself. And that well that is what makes NASCAR special. Its about family, respect...Thank you for taking me down memory lane!

I started crying watching that video. I remember watching that race on tv with my Dad who was a dedicated Dale Sr. and NASCAR fan. I was pretty young then maybe 13. My Dad died 7 years ago and now I feel closest to him when I am watching racing.

I would just like to see Dale Jr. get a win for himself. No matter where it is I will be happy for him. I love Nascar and never miss watching a race. This video also brought tears to my eyes. A Texas win would be awesome but then any win would be awesome. I know he deserves a win and it will come, hopefully sooner then later.

I was there @ Texas Motor Speedway in April 2000 when he got his 1st Winston Cup win of his young career -- Will never forget seeing Big E storm into victory lane & toss Eddie Gossage aside so he could hug his son

That would have been a sight to see! I won't be able to get into Victory Lane, but I'll be waiting in the Media Center so regardless of who wins, I'll post a good recap for y'all and hopefully get to ask a question or two!